You can never go home
by Lesatho
Summary: PostMovie drabble. With the League mourning the loss of Quatermain, Henry Jekyll finds himself wondering where to go from here.


**Author's Note:** I had this formed pretty well in my head. Or at least the beginning. Unfortunately, the middle and end kind of petered out, but since I have nothing on my site and the story didn't turn out quite so horrible, it was posted. Next time I'll spend more time getting this together. Heheh. :)

**Disclaimer: **All characters, blah, blah, do not belong to me, I just borrowed them for a brief jaunt.

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It all seemed so lost.

Sitting quietly in the parlor, surrounded by people that had turned from strange acquaintances into real and true friends, Henry Jekyll was at a loss for words. Not that it was a rare occurrence, he found that often times whatever words he attempted to come up with were drowned out by Edward's own take on a situation. But this time, Edward seemed at a loss as well and his head was oddly quiet.

Quatermain was gone. There was nothing more to say, but that it seemed unreal. The older gentleman _was_ $Old, but he had seemed indestructible in his own way. And after saying their own farewells to the man, the remainder of the League had made a listless journey back to the Nautilus and sat brooding in their own thoughts as it drifted aimlessly through the water at the command of Nemo's proficient crew.

Henry lifted his head, looked across the room to take in the somber gathering of people and frowned ever so slightly His pocketwatch danced nervously between his nimble fingers. Sawyer seemed to be taking it hardest; blaming himself and his own foolishness for getting Quatermain killed, though they each knew it wasn't the young agent's fault. Henry was sure that Tom knew it as well, but it would take time for those wounds to heal. Mina also seemed to be taking things poorly, but she had summed it up when they were on their way to Africa to bury their lost friend; Dorian was dead but it brought little fulfillment to her life. The betrayal had stung them all and Henry found himself thinking almost viciously to himself that the man's loss had at least taken the edge off of it – and may he burn in hell. That could easily have been Edward's influence on him though, Hyde seemed to have taken an immediate dislike to the man; perhaps foreseeing treachery under the layers of oily politeness.

Captain Nemo sat quiet and stiff, the regal bearing he commanded as well as his ship seemed to lay over him like a shroud and his dark eyes remained fixed on the table in the center of the room though there was a far away glaze to them that meant the man was worlds away. Even Skinner was present; his burns salved and bandaged though hidden under the black duster he favored. Though he went without greasepaint or the classic pince-nez lenses that hid the hollows of his eyes, the tilted slump of his trilby hat told all – that the gentleman thief was just as lost as the rest of them.

And so, Henry found the uncomfortable job of breaking the silence weighing rather heavily on his shoulders. If anything, the pocketwatch in his hands began to spin faster with his growing agitation. He simply couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't be forced. That would ease the tense layer of sorrow that blanketed them all, rather than add to it. Finally, it was Edward who broke the silence, albeit only to his other half.

'_Sod the lot of you, this is starting to get on my nerves Henry._'. Muttering in frustration in the back of his head, Hyde gave off the impression of a restless and caged animal. Even so, Henry could sense the undertones of grief in his alter-ego's performance. '_Let's go. Back to Paris._'

'_You and I both know that is not an option at this time, Edward._' Pitching a mental sigh, Henry slumped even farther into his chair. '_What 'M' promised us all was-_'

'_Oh bugger it._' It was an odd thing to be interrupted by oneself. '_Then we'll go to London._'

"We can't." Henry realized too late that he'd spoken out loud when the silence was shattered and all eyes turned on him in surprised expectation. Jittering nervously, he clasped the watch tightly in his hands and lowered his eyes to the tabletop. "We can't go back to Paris. We can't go back to London." Clarified for the rest of the team, he grit his teeth and give his head an edgy twist as if to keep Edward from answering. Stormy eyes lifted slowly to the attention gathered curiously upon him. "I have no pardon." He turned to Skinner, voice sympathetic as the thief had been played as well as they all had and there was little chance he would ever gain what had been promised him as well. "You have no cure."

"Yes, I suppose upon the revelation that 'M' was not the man he seemed, that he had no power and no intention of giving any of us what he had promised in exchange for our services." Nemo didn't seem particularly ruffled though. Perhaps a pardon to him was nothing as the sea was uncontrollable. Nobody could call him criminal in his own domain. As if to soften the blow, he repeated the offer that had been made earlier over the grave of Allan Quatermain. "You are all welcome here. To stay aboard my Lady."

Sawyer shifted restlessly at the offer and turned away. "I'd like to go home." Henry sighed in relief as the attention was turned away from him though the agent's declaration was a surprise. "I left a lot unfinished when I came out here. I never had a chance to close things up. To say goodbye." His childhood friend, of course. Killed by 'M'. Tom's reason for bribing his way into the group in the first place. At least the young man had a measure of closure as his vengeance had been completed.

"Then we shall take you home." Nemo stood and turned to leave the cabin, casting a look over his shoulder. "I will see to our course." After he left, the silence seemed to carry on once more and for a while, Henry felt the press of disappointment. Weren't they a team now? Had it come down to this – unable to cope with the loss of one of their member and falling apart from it?

"What about you, Mina?" Skinner's trilby tilted to indicate the words were his, though there would already be no mistaking the accent. Mina seemed uncertain, as if she'd been avoiding giving that particular subject any thought.

"I don't know.."

It occurred to Henry that maybe none of them had thought of it aside from Sawyer. Of course Tom had friends waiting for him. He turned to regard the other two. Mina, for all accounts of her own, had nobody left waiting for her. And Skinner had never spoken of friends or family. In all rights, the man was a ghost and seemed to prefer it that way.

Henry caught his lower lip between his teeth, worried at it for a moment as he formulated the right words and turned his gaze to Mina. "Ms. Harker-" Her eyes and attention turned to him. "I know that my hunt for a cure for myself has gone mostly in failure.." Edward laughed at this. There had been no coming up with a cure for not only was Henry hopelessly addicted to his darker side, but Edward would never have let it happen regardless. "But perhaps you and I could find a way to give Mr. Skinner what was promised him.." The trilby jerked, twisting toward Henry with what the doctor could only imagine may have been disbelief.

A smile spread across Mina's features.

---

And for the weeks, it was peaceful. They all fell into a routine of wake and sleep, punctuated by meals taken together for once, pleasant conversation and a feeling of recovery. The haunted look that lurked in Sawyer's eyes began to fade and Mina began to move with the life and spark that Henry had recalled upon their first meeting. Skinner seemed to be doubly cheerful as their research progressed and limited himself to simply replacing items in different places than removing them altogether.

Though Hyde rallied in the back of his mind, his usually destructive half seemed strangely willing to help bring things together, acting as a third pair of eyes and a sounding board for the ideas that he and Mina had. And together, they managed.

---

The air was fresh and crisp, autumn settling into the coast of America as the crew of the Nautilus worked to settle her against the docks. There was a gathered crowd who stood in general disbelief at the sight of her, glittering sleek and silver in the water. And as the ramps dropped and the crew began to wander the docks in search of supplies, the League stood quietly within the ship for a moment.

Sawyer could hardly contain himself and launched off the ramp, a wild whoop of enthusiasm ripping through their reserve. And with a smile, Mina disembarked after the young American as he returned to the land he knew so well. They smiled, laughed together and faded into the crowd. Nemo seemed reluctant to leave but in the end accompanied his crew in the search and procurement of supplies to keep the crew well fed and happy.

Henry remained quiet, uneasy as Hyde began to pick out different people in the crowd, crowing about the dark alleys he could find to lurk within. It was disconcerting to be standing there, but after they had all decided that a change was in order, he was willing to try. Willing to give living another try and determined not to let America turn into another London or Paris under Hyde's influence. Though he found it largely amusing that Henry could hope to control him, Edward didn't disagree too loudly.

"Well, what you waitin' for Doc?" Henry turned to regard Skinner and offered a faint smile. "I've been hearing so much about America, we may as well actually get off the boat and explore it, hm?" Dusting off the top of his trilby with a gloved hand, Skinner tipped it gaily and set it atop his head, turning to smirk and fasten his eyes directly onto Henry's, something the thief seemed to appreciate now that people were able to meet his gaze as well. There was a vague pride that Skinner had in his appearance now that he could actually see himself. Though he still favored the black duster and trilby, he accompanied it with simple colors and long sleeves and slacks to cover the scars he never realized he had and the burns that marked his skin.

"Certainly. I'm looking forward to it." Henry smiled quietly and realized that he actually was looking forward to this new land. Starting slightly as Skinner slung an arm about his shoulders, he found himself guided down the ramp and into the crowd while Skinner amused him with tales and anecdotes and grand possibilities.

True, Henry Jekyll could never go home again. But perhaps he didn't need to.


End file.
